Transmission



Jan. l2 1954 K. F. WEBER 2,665,590

TRANSMISSION Filed March le, 1951 r 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

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Jan. 12, 1954 K. F.- wEBl-:R 2,565,590

TRANSMISSION Filed March 16. 1951 K, 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y {'N VEN TOR.NM1/mm K. F. WEBER TRANSMISSION Jan. l2, 1954 Filed March 16, 1951 3Sheets-Sheet 3 r f f Patented Jan. 12, 1954 .rniissmssrqs s Karl FQ-Webexg Los Angeles, Calif,

@dilation .Marois 16 19 Taramasso@ Claims; '(01. reali!) invention.relates to' a .transmission and more particularly to awholly.mechanical :transimission. i Y It :is an object of.thisinirentiontoprovide .a 1transmission which eliminates shittingV Aof' gears to varythe ratio of rotation betweenf'a -yslfiaftanda 'driven-shaft and henceispartcularlyadaptable .forusein--an automobile.

5 Aiurtherobj-ect of this .inyentionisto provide rfatransmissionlwherein thevpartsthereof. are eas.- -i-lyaocessiblelforrepair .and replacement.`

v' Other objects and advantages lof this transe 'mission will beapparentfrom theiollowing .de-

scription. Y Referringvnowto .the drawingsz.

l`Figure 1 is a side Aelevational view insection `of V-atransmission-embodying -thisinven'tion Figure 2 is a `diagrammatic.view.of..a control mechanismior-this transmission.

V74fliguref is a sectional .View taken along..line 3-3 of Figure 1.

vFigure 4 is an enlarged -View of `aJ/rertioal secvtion of -the ratiovarying meansof this transmission.

"Figure .5 is an enlarged .fragmentary View in sectiontaken along '.theline. 5 5 .of Figure 1.

'Figure 6 is an Y.enlarged.ofraginentary.View i1- :lustrating theratchetand. pinion .driving means. -Figure 7 is a sectional .view.takenalong the line 1 1 of Figure 5.

A dri-ve shaft -I0 .is .caused to .rotate .by any suitablesouroeofpower, saidshaft being supiported-by-a bearing surface :I2 in .nap :I4which lis `journaled toreceive said.. shaft and. is. in ,turnA:frioun-tedfupon casing t6, which wilLhereinafter obe described-.manysuitablemanner such asby screws I8.- -Thesidei .ofoasingLlBisalso Yjonr--naled .toforrna .bea-ring surface .for drivel shaft -r@n `the portionl.of .drive shaft l0. which .projects into l.the casing .aspiral gear-22is vsuitably formed thereon oriattachedthereto,.the .extremity of said`shaftbeingsupported bythe sidewall 'S26 of theratiovaryingifneanshousing7 which.-.will Lbe` .hereinafter..desoribed,...said .shaft 1.0 .being #keyed las. at 21.. to .side wallZ6 andzcausing .said r`'housingto .rotate uponrotationof :shaft 10..' i:A .sleevei218 .which .is1threaded internallyto .meshwith .the spiralgear..-22...isfprovided with :teethformingan.externalspur gear forapurspose hereinafter .-,to-sbedescribed., .-.This sleeyefis'.sproyidedmith. an. internal .annulus l30 adaptedto .areceiveiange132,. of the..c0l.1t.1i01-..s1eee Msothat the-.s1ee-re128zis free tovinta-te.-'yvih repeotgiQ-.th .c.ontr.o1 sleeve-3.4. .Saidrfiangefmay beretained ;-in.the-annu1us -.3 0 ihysplitfwasher 33 iwhichinturn fis-abolted; or. otherwise suitably secured n. to .sleeve E-IZ-.3':y.

. .The .ratio varying .moons housing comprises ...side non Gland .side/wollsf which @tommasobly. secured, f ,by bolts .inth ise1nbodiinent, toj an annular-easing momborf.. Wh' h. *infturilf moyfb'e.ororidedf-.wiihan-oxtornokeslsosilollge llfeilih guides the, .housing,during rotation, .Said .llanero .fitting ...into an .appropriateireoessbearing membersii .and .44.111 .which .the housing .is so.: ltatalolysupported. .The bearingnlemloors sito suitably inouiitged.-nronrinternal Wal-1 .4.6 .tum .lisiboitedato bear-ine .members .4.8and.. 5.9 iforinedjntheasing .Mounted the .ratio varyingnieans.housingis .an .external .spur soar .52, hereinater referred@ .as .the.nositioninaseaiz .Wholrmeshes .W'th .the .s1eev.e .28. rlhis.positioning .gear .5.2 is .mo .una `shaft .544 .whionis- `rotatably.mounted in ratio varying means .housing .in ,bearings .56; .and 5i!.formed in. side.w.al1s 2li and 3.B1tliereo. PQSi- -tioning gear .-.5'2iis .thus .carried .by rotation .of -.the ratio varying ineens housingVabout .the axis Lof .dfrire ,shaft .I 0 .butmay .also rotate .about.its :own

axis. Rotation of the positioning .gearahoutrits .sleeve 28 .on...wormir Thus, :when .s1e.ex(e...28...is -xedglaterally upon.the. wormbyholding control `sleeve 3.4 stationary. .no rotation of .positioningv.gear .zaboutits .ownii axis occurs during l its .r0.- tation .aboutthe laxis .ofdrve .shaft Hl, v.,t.h=.r.e.b.e .ing .no ,fixed .connection.between sleeve. and control sleeve 34. Upon. llateral movement V.of.control sleeve v3.11.. .on shaft JA), sleeyel is moved ,laterally also,whichgimparts .additionalrotation .to sleevel .whichintur meshing.withposif .,tioninggear 5.2, causes .it to* rotate .about its .own ax-istheresult .of .which'nyill .be .hereinafter .described'.

- r .Control .sleeve .threaded internally. as Ain.-.dicatediatS.0.aconsiderable portion lofits length, .which threadsmesh.Witnthe external. threads .262 .on the support .6.4 which-.may beiormedintegrally withrside-.f .casing t6. .Inthisernbodimentfan own .axis,.caused. .by .lateral .displa .ement of .external'spurgeana i isjrigidlymounted .Oneontrol sleei/:e 34. spnrgear ES meshes with the.control .gear .r6.8 .suitably mounted .lupon.,.contro1 .shaft 'FID.which isi supported. byv .bearingslZ and .7.4 suitably. formedin.oasingtv Thus itis apparent .that...rotation ofpoontrol .shaft 1.0rotates .gear .68 which. in.. turn. rotatesgear .65 Aand control :sleeve:3L ,This rotationI of .oontrolsleeve 34 Willcauseyt to.` movelaterallyonsllpportti Vthe .direetionof .tion vof .control shaft-.10..The lateral. motionof Lcontrol.;sie toloansos .positioning Soeren. toro.-

tinoation ofthe gente' xi'sofsnaft ifo. ednltat'is fornieientiie crank",iagwhie'h 82 nected. It is apparent that when the ratio varying meansis positioned as seen in Figure 4, the device is on center; that is,rotation of drive shaft I will not result in any vertical reciprocatingmovement of the connecting rod 8B. Rotation of Y control shaft willresult in rotation of posi' tioning gear 52 about its own axis, aspreviously described, which rotates crank 18 awayvfrom the centerposition seen in Figure 4 towards the open position seen in Figure 1.The further loff center crank 18 is moved the greater the reciprocalmovement imparted to connecting rod 86 which is, of course, controlledby positioning of shaft 10'.

Mounted upon shaft 55 which is rotatably mounted in the ratio varyingmeans housing in the same manner as shaft 54 is a gear 51 whichcorresponds to positioning gear 52. This gear 51 meshes with sleeve 28and is rotated about its axis the same as positioning gear 52. Attachedto gear 51 is a counterbalance 59 which swings away from the centerposition a distance corresponding to movement of crank 18. Thus when theratio varying means housing is rotated by drive shaft I0, it isbalanced, preventing harmful stresses being exerted on the mechanism.

The connecting rod 88 is pivotally connected to rack 88 tting into aslot in the lower extremity of said rack and being retained therein by apin 90 which projects through suitable apertures in said rack and theextremity of said connecting rod. The slot in the extremity of rack 88should be sufficiently large so that the connecting rod 8E will notstrike the sides of said rack at any possible position of saidconnecting rod as it is carried by circular plate 84. The rack 88 at itsupper extremity 92 nts Within and is guided by guideway 94 formed incasing I6 so that it oscillates back and forth in said guideway.

Pinion gears 96 and 98 are positioned on each side of and meshed withsaid rack 88 so that said pinions are rotated by the reciprocal motionof said rack, rst in one direction and then in the other. Each of thepinions and its cooperating mechanisms are identical so only themechanism associated with pinion 96 will be described in detail. Saidpinion 8E is mounted upon a shaft |00 which is supported at eachextremity in suitable A bearings |02 and |04 formed in casing i6. Aratchet generally designated |08 is also mounted upon shaft |00 andoperably connected to pinion l 96. This ratchet may be of any type andin this embodiment it is illustrated as comprising a sleeve n.. I

|08, as best seen in Figure 5, a body member ||0 rotatably mountedtherein and friction rods II2 retained in suitable recesses in said bodymember. The pinion 96 is rigidly connected to said body member I I0, asbest seen in Figure rI. Thus, upon j clockwise rotation of said iscreated by the downstroke of rack 88, the fric tion rods engage thesleeve and rotate it, while upon counterclockwise rotation of saidpinion 98,

pinion, which rotation.

created upon the up stroke of said rack 88, the .Y

body member I0 is rotated counterclockwise and the friction rods do notengage sleeve |08 so it is not rotated counterclockwise.

Rigidly mounted on the sleeve |08 is an external spur gear i I4 which isrotated by rotation of said sleeve. This spur gear I4 meshes with aninternal gear ||6 and causes it to rotate. Since rotation of spur I|4 isin one direction only and only upon the down stroke of rack 88, a secondpinion 98 similarly engages the rack 88 on the side opposite pinion SB.This pinion is driven in a clockwise direction upon the up stroke ofrack 88. This clockwise rotation is imparted through ratchet I8 to aspur gear |20 in the same manner as spur I|4 is driven. Spur |20 mesheswith and Ydrives internal gear I I0 in the same direction and while spurIll'isl idling. This construction insures a continuous movement ofinternal gear IIB.

Referring now to Figure 3, it is preferred to provide a plurality ofracks such as 88, |22, |24 and |26, each pivotally connected to circularplate 84 by an appropriate connecting rod with the exception of themaster connecting rod 88 which is preferably rigidly connected to saidplate 84. These racks in turn each have a pair of pinions, ratchets andspur gears corresponding to pinions 88 and 98, ratchets Illu` and I I8,and spur gears I4 and |20, respectively. By provision of a plurality ofsuch mechanisms, the internal gear IIB may be driven by a continuousforce insuring a smooth rotation thereof.

A spur gear |28 mounted on shaft |30 which in turn is supported bysuitable bearings |32, |38 and |38 formed in casing IE meshes with andis driven by internal gear` H8. A spur gear |38 is also rigidly mountedon shaft |30 and rotated by rotation of gear |28. This spur |38 mesheswith and drives gear |40 which in turn rotates the driven shaft |42.

It is apparent that the ratio of rotation of driven shaft |42 to that ofdrive shaft |0 is controlled by two things: the size of gears used inthe device, and the length of stroke of the ratchets which in turn iscontrolled by the positioning of crank 18 and in turn is controlled byrotation of control shaft 10.

It is apparent, therefore, that the ratio may be varied within anypractical limits established, for example, from zero to one to one, itbeing also apparent that the driven shaft is stopped when the crank 18is on center position as seen in Figure 4 as no oscillatory motion isimparted to the racks, and that the ratio is at its greatest when thecrank 18 is pivoted as far as possible from on center as seen in Figurel.

Thus it is apparent that when the crank 18 is slightly off center aratio approaching infinity is created between the speed of rotation ofdrive shaft I0 and driven shaft |42 which ratio decreases as crank 18 ispositioned further oir center. Thus all jerking motion is eliminated asthe ratio changes and approaches the opposite limit of ratio, which maybe fixed at 1:1 or any other suitable ratio as hereinbefore described.

In order that the mechanism be more sensitive to a reduction in theratio between rotation of the drive shaft and the driven shaft or to areduction of speed of rotation of the driven shaft, it is desirable toduplicate the device as described to act as a damper due to the freewheeling action of the ratchets; that is, to use the rotation of thedriven shaft |42 as a source of power and drive it back through the sametype of device, ultimately resulting in rotation of spur gear |44 whichmeshes withspur gear |45 which is integral with drive shaft I0. Thus, asthe speed of rotation of drive shaft |0 or the ratio of rotation isreduced, a drag is created in this dampening system which makes drivenyshaft |42 responsive to such changes.

' Y It is of course apparent that the ratio between rotation of thedriven shaft |42 and drive shaft I0 should be substantially the inverseof the ratio of rotation of drive shaft I0 to driven shaft |42 in theprincipal system; that is, if the first-mentioned ratio is 4:1, then thesecond-mentioned ratio should besubstantially equal to but not greaterthan 1:4. This necessitates that the positioning of crank 18 in theprincipal system and of crank |48 of the dampening system bysynchronized so that one is in the on center position when the other isin the open position, and vice versa, and also necessitates that therewill exist the proper ratios in all the intermediate positions of thecranks. The crank |48 of the dampening system should never be exactly oncenter with reference to the axis of the shaft |42 to avoid freewheeling.

There is illustrated in Figure 2 one possible l mechanism foraccomplishing this result. The common control is by knob |50 which uponrotation imparts the same degree of rotation inthe saine direction tocontrol shaft 'le and control shaft |52. It is apparent that manydevices are adaptable to synchronizing the pivoting of cranks 18 and|48.

The casing I5 may be provided with bearings such as 48 and 5|] and |53and 51| which are recessed to support and guide the internal gearsduring rotation of said gears. f

It is apparent that this transmission can readily be provided with areverse by insertion of a gear between gears |38 and |40 which of coursewill drive driven shaft |42 in the opposite direction from drive shaftl0. This reversing gear can be retractably inserted between gears |38and |49 in any manner well known to those skilled in the art.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been described, itis not intended to limit the invention to the details but to the fullscope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A device of the class described comprising: a drive shaft, a plate, acrank operably connecting said plate to said drive shaft, means forpivoting said crank to position the axis of said plate with respect tothe axis of said drive shaft, means for converting rotational motion ofsaid plate to lineal oscillatory motion, means for converting saidlineal oscillatory motion to rotary motion, a second plate, a drivenshaft, a crank connecting said second plate to said driven shaft, meansfor pivoting said last mentioned crank to position the axis of saidsecond plate with respect to the axis of said driven shaft, means forconverting rotational vmotion of said second plate to lineal oscillatorymotion, means for Vconverting said lineal oscillatory motion to rotarymotion, and means for imparting said rotary motion to said drive shaft.

2. A device of the class described comprising: a drive shaft, a plate, acrank operably connecting said plate to said drive shaft, means forpivoting said crank to position the axis of said plate with respect tothe axisv of said drive shaft, at least one rack operably connected tosaid 'plate whereby rotation of said plate imparts lineal oscillatorymotion to said rack, a pinion meshing with each of said racks, a ratchetconnected to said pinion transmitting rotation in one direction only, adriven shaft, means for imparting said single direction rotation to saiddriven shaft, a

second plate, a crank operably connecting saidA plate to said drivenshaft, means for pivoting said last mentioned crank to position the axisof said second plate with respect to the axis of said driven shaft, atleast one rack operably connected to said second plate whereby rotationof said second plate imparts lineal oscillatory motion to said rack, apinion meshing with each of said racks, a ratchet connected to saidpinion transmitting rotation in one direction only, and means forimparting said single direction rotation to said drive shaft.

6 3. A device of the class described comprising: a drive shaft, a plate,a crank operably connecting said plate to said drive shaft, means forpivoting said crank to position the axis of said plate with respect totheaxis of said drive shaft, at least one rack operably connected tosaid plate whereby rotation of said plate imparts a lineal oscillatorymotion to said racks, a pair of pinions meshing with each of said racksone on each side of said racks, a ratchet connected to each of saidVpinions transmitting rotation in one direction only, a driven shaft,means for imparting said single direction rotation to said driven shaft,a second plate, a crank operably connecting said plate to said drivenshaft, means for pivoting said last mentioned crank to position the axisof said second plate with respect to the axis of said driven shaft, atleast one rack operably connected to said plate whereby rotation of saidplate imparts a, lineal oscillatory motion to said racks, a pair ofpinions meshing with each of said racks, a ratchet connected to each ofsaid pinions transmitting rotation in one direction only, and means forimparting said single direction rotation to said drive shaft.

4. A device of the class described comprising: a drive shaft, means forconverting rotary motion of said drive shaft to oscillatory linealmotion, means for varying the length of strokes of said linealoscillatory motion, a driven shaft, means for converting said linealoscillatory motion to rotary motion of said driven shaft, means forconverting rotary motion of said driven shaft to lineal oscillatorymotion, means for varying the length of strokes of said last mentionedlineal oscillatory motion, means for converting said last i mentionedlineal oscillatory motion into rotaryv shaft, means for converting saidlineal oscillatory motion to rotary motion of said driven shaft, meansfor converting rotary motion of said driven shaft into linealoscillatory motion, means for controlling the length of strokes of saidlast mentioned lineal oscillatory motion, means for converting said lastmentioned lineal oscillatory motion to rotary motion, and means forimparting said last mentioned rotary motion to said drive shaft.

KARL F. WEBER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,268,140 Nagel June 4, 1918 1,662,688 Veber Mar, 13, 19281,738,965 Reina Dec. 10, 1929 2,308,974 Harper Jan. 19, 1943 2,503,310Weiss Apr. 11,1950 2,528,148 Johnston Oct. 31, 1950 2,569,586 Small Oct.2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,463 Great Britain July 23,1914 330,634 Italy Oct. 21, 1935 449,460 France Feb. 27, 1911 468,059Germany Nov. 7, 1926 724,757 France May 2, 1932

